KarlaKoaster

Ah, well that solves my first-world problem I'd love to go to Walygator at some point anyway, but an RMC would have sealed the deal. Thanks for clarifying BDG.

Oh for god's sake, another park I have to add to my to-do list

4D is so 2000. Universal needs 5D

Same here. It seems like such an elementary error. I've been asking myself the same simple question ever since this happened: HOW? It was always going to be human error, but Merlin take safety soooo seriously that there must be so many protocols and redundancy to avoid someone just accidentally pushing a button and sending a train into the same block as another.

This looks so cool. If that makes me a hipster then that's fine by me [starts growing beard]

We do?

I'm pretty sure they've replaced sections of Nemesis's helix at Alton Towers too, so it's nothing new in that respect, but I guess there could well be quite a few parts of Hulk being replaced. It's nice to see that they're using it as an opportunity to improve the ride experience too. If they work on the track, launch and trains it could be a VERY different feeling coaster!

Yep that's right. I guess it will improve the ride much like similar measures on Talocan, Black Mamba and Colorado Adventure have. I love it when parks like this take advantage of restrictions and create something great from them.

I love RMCs, but I'm not so sure about the Grand National getting RMC treatment. I still think it is a great coaster with a great layout and just needs a bit of TLC. I love the idea of riding the National knowing that it has basically been the same layout for something like 80+ years and is still a really exciting coaster. I would love a Mack coaster of some kind, and I think there's a surprising amount of space in the park thanks to rides like Turtle Chase being removed, plus as the Big One shows, it is easy to have a custom layout go over and under existing rides.

B&M - Inverters Intamin - Hyper/Mega Coasters Premier - Sky Rocket II S&S - Screaming Swing RMC - I-Box Arrow - Hyper Coasters Vekoma - Mine Trains HUSS - Breakdance Plus a few more manufacturers to add into the mix Gerstlauer - Infinity Coaster Mondial - Top Scan Mack - Launch Coasters KMG - Afterburner 32

Don't worry, I didn't forget Valhalla It's a really good ride but I don't think it is in the public consciousness like the Big One is

Alton definitely won in that Nemesis is the best of the 1994 coasters, although I think the Big One has been a big success for BPB and arguably carried the park for the last 20-or-so years. I don't think they would have got away with so few new rides since had it not been for the Big One. As for 2017 it's exciting that they're already starting to promote the ride! I hope this means it will be a large investment rather than the park overhyping a filler attraction.

Nope, I totally agree with you. I think Tidal Wave was fine as at least it is quite upbeat, and Nemesis at Alton Towers was at least original at the time, but since then pretty much every ride has been really depressing theme wise. I want to be taken to another world and enchanted when I visit a theme park, not depressed haha.

I'm not a fan of the whole psychological angle that Merlin use with their rides either. I guess/hope it will work better on a dark ride though.

At least if it all goes horribly wrong you're already in a coffin.

A lot of the gutter press have been posting pictures of empty trains/boats/car parks etc. I never post links to articles like this because it's all basically click-bait but I guess you cannot deny that the park HAS been very quiet since the accident. I visited one Saturday and it was very quiet, and every time I look at the ride times online most waits are 0-5 minutes long, and the odd one might be 20 minutes (normally Spinball).

It was a blustery day so I am sure that this is what caused the valley, not cold wheels. In related news Merlin have issued a profit warning as a result of the accident. "Alton Towers owner Merlin Entertainments says the rollercoaster accident at the theme park in June could affect profits by up to £47m. Profits for the theme parks division in 2015 are expected to be between £40m and £50m, compared with £87m last year." Advertising was suspended for a while too, and as well as the money lost through closing the park there were compensation payments made to the victims of the collision. It's also worth mentioning that it has been quite a quiet year in terms of new additions so I guess profits would have been down a bit anyway. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33672357

Peter Pan is basically the same, and Star Tours is the original version (I think WDW has been upgraded, right?). I far prefer Big Thunder at Paris, though, due to the first tunnel and particularly because of the incredible ending on it where it plunges back under the lake. Sorry about that. It really does need a rehab though.

There will be a lot of theming in the form of rockwork all around the ride, so it is to protect it against damage from being sprayed with concrete and the paint getting scraped etc

Hats off to whoever is managing this project. How they can build a coaster like this without accidentally trapping a crane in the middle I do not know.

I am not a big fan of Thorpe Park, it seems more Six Flags than Six Flags to me. I really enjoyed your trip report, and am sorry that your trip sucked from a staff POV. They're normally OK when I go if nothing special. The closed pathway must have been annoying, and it looks so silly just to dump the benches across the path. Good news about Colossus, but I wonder if maybe the repainted sections are just where they have either welded or replaced track sections? And same with the joints, maybe they've just sorted out the joins and repainted them which is why the ride is running quieter? Just speculating of course Thanks for the TR

Wow, this is the same height as the Big One at Blackpool

It varies depending on the coaster and where it valleys. On Smiler, where that train valleyed, they normally just remove some of the wheel assemblies and use a crane to lift the train off the track and put it back onto the transfer track. On other coasters sometimes they can winch the train up to the next high point and then it can complete the circuit itself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-iJKhpHF9s

Maybe not the best airtime, but just about the best feeling of airtime. As we're talking drop tower airtime, I think the Fabri drop towers like Detonator at Thorpe Park have incredible airtime, better than any Intamin or S&S I've ridden.

Although this isn't a coaster or theme park, I thought some of you might be interested to know that they are currently building a huge observation tower ride in Brighton, which is a small city on the south coast of the UK. The tower is going to be 531ft tall, and the gigantic mirrored glass gondola will go 450ft up into the air. Although it's 'just' an observation tower it looks like bit of a reinvention of the idea just like the London Eye was of the ferris wheel. I also think it looks really nicely designed with the mirrored glass gondola, the really slender minimalist tower and the location which is in contrast to the victorian buildings around it. Artists impressions: • It is being designed by Marks Barfield architects who designed the London Eye • Manufacturers include Hollandia (steel), Poma (gondola), and Jacobs (engineers) • 531 feet tall with the glass gondola climbing to 450 feet • The gondola can hold 200 people and people can either sit or stand • At night the gondola becomes the Sky Bar with drinks and entertainment • From the top you will be able to see around 26 miles in every direction • Views include Brighton, the countryside and the biggest off-shore wind farm in the world • At the bottom will be a bistro, cafe, shop, exhibition and function rooms • Built on the site of an old Victorian pier which was virtually destroyed by storms and fire Construction photos: The tubular steel sections came directly from Holland by boat and were delivered by barge onto Brighton Beach. The tower is being built from the bottom up using a tower they have constructed where they push each section of the tower up and put each new section in underneath which is how they build tower cranes. This means they won't have to use so many cranes or have people working at height. More on Brighton i360: • Official website: http://www.brightoni360.co.uk/ • Construction webcam: http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/i360_brighton/ • Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I360